Behind the Scenes

Hello Faithful Readers!

Robert Irwin's garden.

Baldessari after Dürer and Dürer

You've been to the Getty Center. You seen Robert Irwin's lush and sculptural garden installation, gazed upon gorgeous paintings by Dürer, and perhaps even found Baldessari's Specimen (After Dürer) but have you been behind the scenes? Okay, listen, stick with me. I'll take you there.

Detail of bed in the Paris exhibit.

Some bed, huh?

Photo-collage layouts for the exhibit design. 

Associated graphics for the Paris exhibit.

Yesterday my friend David called with a last minute invitation. There was a cancellation which made room for me as an interloper in an IDSA exclusive tour of the Getty Center's exhibit:Paris: Life & Luxury. The highly informative tour was followed by a behind the scenes look at the exhibit design studio. Fascinating!

Exhibit designer talking about the process.
(The photo collages are in the upper left corner of the board.)

The design department at the Getty Center

One inch to one foot scale model of the temporary galleries where "Paris" is.

What did I discover? I am the Getty. I mean my working method is so like the exhibit design department except not only do I create the design, maquettes, and graphics but I also create the finished art. How was I to know? I work in isolation. I must get out more often!

Candid shot of the design offices.

Another candid shot with detail on the right of upcoming "PST" show.

More graphics from the Pacific Standard Time exhibit.

The Paris exhibit was nice, very nice but we also got a sneak peek at an upcoming exhibit that's more up my alley: Pacific Standard Time: Art In L.A. 1945-1980. In fact Getty design is all ready for it and on to the next thing. Here in Southern California we'll be treated to more than 60 venues where the story of art in Los Angeles will unfold. I can't wait but of course I'll have to.

This sign is on the door as you leave the design department.

Until next time this is Corbu's Cave.


Please note: click on any image to enlarge it. Do follow my links, (the off colored words), for more information. Oh, and please do leave me a comment, (anything),  just so I know you're out there. Thanks! 

Play Room

Play time is not over.

This is Oskar Schlemmer in a costume of his own design. 

No one ever says that do they? Oh, but I'm saying it in my tribute to Oskar Schlemmer, one of my favorites from the Bauhaus. Play time goes on and on.

Costume designs by Schlemmer.

Drawing for the playroom mural.

Drawing for the playroom mural.

Drawing for the playroom mural.

Drawing for the playroom mural.

I did a very small painting project for a couple in Hancock Park, something rather simple really but they were quite happy with it. When I finished one of them asked, "Do you do anything else?" When he found out I painted murals I was shown the children's play room and asked to consider it. Fun! I'd never done such a thing so this was a chance to do something really different from my typical work. I don't know that I have a typical. Still, what I did is quite distinctive from my other projects.

The canvas are up and gessoed in the studio.

The beginning of painted form.

The slate gray is applied and more shapes appear.

More color.

Finished in the studio.

The long view.

Wide view in the opposite direction.

These parts are destined for the north wall of the playroom.

More of the finished work in the studio.

Costume designs for the Triadic Ballet.

Man Machine.

Actually I came up with three different ideas for the playroom and presented them in the form of photo-collages. The Oskar Schlemmer idea was the choice and truth be told it's just what I wanted. Schlemmer was familiar to me not only from studying the Bauhaus in art school but I had seen a wonderful show of his work in Baltimore in 1986. So he's been tucked away in my mental clipping file for some time.

West wall installed.

Jerryl Gorman and crew, Nico and Abraham, installing the south wall.

Southwest corner of the playroom mural.

Looking at the north wall with the west on the right.

Niko working on the east wall.

Wikipedia says Schlemmer was hard at work and self supporting at age 15. I don't know if that's completely true but he was a workshop apprentice at that age and his parents both died when he was still young. This is might not be the sort of background you'd expect to lead to such a witty, playful, and inventive artist. Working young instilled a love and appreciation for craftsmanship that Schlemmer carried his whole life. He taught this at the Bauhaus but he was also in charge of the "Fun Department" -all the parties and festivals. He's perhaps most remember for his Triadic Ballet (Triadishches Ballett) and that's a sort of party as performance.

This figure became known as the TV empress because she carries the television screen.

Jerryl's iPad with my elevations helped guide the installation.

Part of what I love about Schlemmer's work are the marvelous contrasts. Simple and complex. There's bright clear color and a range of neutrals. There are hard edge flat planes of color, visible brush work, and modeled form. There are references to machines but ones that seem to produce no serious work. The human form is even combined with the machine. This relates directly to his staged pieces. Oskar was very much of his time expressing the latest ideas in art and design which even today can look startling and new. The house where my Oskar Schlemmer mural lives was built about the same time Oskar was at the height of his artistic output so although it may seem in contrast with the architecture it also feels  very much at home. More importantly the kids really like it -and so do their parents!

The Woman's Building where my mural was painted.
The cartouche above the door shows the letters SOCO
(Standard Oil Company) from 1913.

Addendum

About the time I was ready to start the playroom mural my friend David Chun asked if I was interested in an apprentice. I would need help for the project anyway and I think this project particularly suited David's skill set as a furniture designer. He makes beautiful drawings so he did the first round of sketches to which I made only minor changes. He also helped me with all other aspects of creating the  mural.


My neighbor and fellow artist Marina Moevs rescued me at the last minute with a studio space. Actually what she did was check with her landlord and discovered there was one space available immediately which was exactly when I needed it. The building is of note so I'm including a picture of the exterior. The structure was completed in 1913 for the Standard Oil Company but it was made famous in the 1970s as a hotbed of feminist and artistic expression known as The Woman's Building.


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Dream a Little Dream


I've been thinking about what to do with my future. I could be a mud doctor, checking out the earth, underneath. *

Do you ever feel you're behind the times? I'm behind the time I planned to add to Corbu's Cave which was the opening weekend of Cave of Forgotten Dreams. I was there and meant to tell you about it right away.

At the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood you reserve your seat so it's already a special event, not just a movie but when the lady sitting next to me sat down she said, "Isn't this exciting?". To which I replied, "Yes! I've had the book and now I'm finally getting to see the movie!"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vallon-Pont-d%27Arc

Cave of Forgotten Dreams is thrilling on a number of levels and it's still resonating with me, naturally I suppose since it's the raison d'être of this blog. Years ago friends from Paris brought me the book, La Grotte Chauvet a Vallon Pont-D'Arc, but really Werner Herzog's movie is the next best thing to being there. It's in 3D you know? And the caves are not now nor will they ever be open to the public.

http://www.friendsofart.net/en/art/giacomo-balla/dynamism-of-a-dog-on-a-leash

To me it's amusing to listen to people in the film speculate as to the creators and their works in the caves because after 30,000 years it's anyone's guess. In my little blog I'm not guessing. I'm telling you that the cave paintings prove my point that we need images on our walls above all else. I direct you architects and interiors designers to ask your clients -"Where shall we put the mural?" Because from caves 30,000 years ago to le Corbusier and every other sort of dwelling a mural is necessary. It's part of who we are as people. Isn't that clear?

* Btw the opening line is a quote from another movie, Days of Heaven. It's topical because it's Terrence Malick movie and his Tree of Life just opened. Dreamy I'm sure.

Update: Architects Snøhetta, Casson Mann have completed work on The new International Centre for Cave Art (Centre International d’Art Parietal) in Montignac, France. Now the un-spelunker can get a real feel for cave exploration and astonishing cave cave painting. see here: Lascaux.

We Could Have Had It All

The Kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men
do not see it. -Thomas or somebody.

In fact I'm pretty sure it's me. The quote above is mine. I said that, or rather something like it every time one of my clients misses the point of having it all that they fail to enjoy it. Look back into my past posts and you'll find a great example of this. We're approaching the one year anniversary of my Ojai project/non project. They could have it all.

Watercolor by Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc of Pierrefonds.

How about a country? Would you like your very own? HRH The Prince of Liechtenstein asked me for the world and I gladly gave it to him. Okay, so he didn't exactly asked me directly, in person but on behalf of the LGT Group of the princely House of Liechtenstein I painted a world map mural for  their stunning San Francisco offices high atop the Embarcadero Center. Enter the marble stair way and you can see my work and find the locations of Liechtenstein Global Trust world wide.

Studio shot of my map mural for LGT.

This is one of my favorite types of commissions. The general direction is know but it's up to me to chart the course. I get just enough input and there's room for quite a lot of creativity. Paint a map, sure, but which one? I chose the less well known Peters projection rather that the very common Mercator projection. Principalities may seem like anachronisms but LGT is a modern day investment firm and Peters map shows the world accurately. Where Mercator shows Greenland and China as having nearly the same mass Peters correctly portrays China at close to four times the size of Greenland. Let's get it right people.

Installed view detail of my map mural showing Liechtenstein coat of arms.

Do you know where you're going to?

Watch for sea serpents. Life's full of 'em.

Still I give thanks  to Mercator and others for their useful and inventive annotated cartography. I thank you. I used many antique references showing landmasses, navigation lines, and various storied creatures upon the seas. The antique style seemed better suited to the crest and coat of arms of Liechtenstein which I also incorporated into my mural. And I indicated the world wide offices in a font completely based on Mercator's beautiful script. Ironically the San Francisco office is no longer among those cities listed. The office is closed. The whereabouts if this map is unknown to me.

Ojai -no map. That's the way it is.

My "rough sketch" of a map mural for Ojai.

Just like LGT the people in Ojai came to me with the idea of map and I said great, I can do that for you. See my previous blog post for some charming photos of this beautiful property. Now I take you inside to show you my map composite. These days my rough sketches; my cocktail napkin drawings are more likely a Photoshop collage. It's easier in a way and gives a good idea of what the finished work will look like in the space. I take the rough and make it real which in this case would have meant substituting what's all around Ojai. I would added charming little images of the local flora and fauna and shown the terrain. It's beautiful and inspiring country and what a perfect installation for an odd little stairway landing. They asked for and I had planned two other painting projects for the house. "Had" is the operative word.

Adele in her video of "Rolling In The Deep"

Violette-le-Duc's mountain mural.

Violet-le-Duc's home La Vedette. He lived for just one year after completing these murals.

We could have had it all! -Adele. Do you know the song: Rolling In The Deep? The video? I captured a still from the video. Have you noticed that strange abandoned room where Adele sits in front of a mural of a mountain-scape. My only reference for such a thing is Violet-le-Duc. He painted a mural of mountains for his own place, La Vedette. Isn't it wonderful? He's such a fascinating character. I used his designs in an early project of mine. Historically we owe him some gratitude for showing us the beauty of Gothic in a time when it was not especially fashionable. He wasn't interested in fashionable.

Violette-le-Duc's mountain studies.

Violet-le-Duc's restoration project for Napolean: Pierrefonds.

Remember to claim your kingdom. It's all around you.

My job? It's to help you.

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I'll Tumble 4 Ya

You didn't ask for it but you got it. 

The picture only version of this blog.

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